Scripture to Read: Luke 19:39-40
Jesus always had the Pharisees and/or the Sadducees nearby whenever there were crowds following Him. As God led Luke to write, we see that the Pharisees were in the crowd on the day Jesus entered Jerusalem. We read in Luke 19:39–40, “Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him,’Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.’ 40 But Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!’” The Pharisees would have known many of the Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament, and although Jesus had been fulfilling one after another over His three years of earthly ministry, the Pharisees totally missed it all. God gives us a great reminder of how the spiritual forces of darkness work to blind the minds of non-believers. We read this in 2 Corinthians 4:4, “…the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” People all over the world today have been blinded by Satan and the demonic forces to seeing the glory of Christ and coming to know Him as Lord and Savior. Though the blinders are on, God has called us to be His witnesses, knowing that the Holy Spirit is also mightily at work in each lost soul to convict them of their sin, their need for Christ’s righteousness, and the reality of a coming judgment (John 16:8–11). We must proclaim Christ well so that God’s created order does not have to testify due to our silence.
Challenge & Application
Why did the Pharisees, and people still today, miss Jesus as the one true Messiah?
Why is it important for us to proclaim Christ to every lost soul we know?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!